A posting of my weekend homilies, and others. Recently, there have been problems listening to my podcasts if you are using the *Chrome browser*. If you have tried and not been able to hear the message, try a different browser. If you missed an earlier homily, contact me, I probably still have the file. I welcome your comments: fejindra@gmail.com

Reading:
Revelations 21:1-5
Write:
“Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race… Behold, I make all things new.”
Reflect:
This New Jerusalem is described elsewhere in revelations as a cube. If it were to be placed on the United States, the northwest corner of the cube would be in the northwest corner of North Dakota. The southeast corner would take in almost all of Florida. That is a big city!
Next weekend, we will hear the city described even more with various gemstones making up the walls and the gates of the city. The streets are paved with gold. In other words, all of the things that are looked at as valuable here on earth, are so common, or lack any value, that they are used to build the eternal city of God.
But this city is also described as being so beautiful as to be compared to a bride ready for her wedding. I have lost track of how many weddings I have done as a priest. But I don’t think I have ever seen a bride who was not beautiful, each in her own way.
Earlier in the book of Revelation, after we hear the overthrow of the beasts who are representative of evil and Satan, we hear about the wedding feast of the Lamb. Jesus is the bridegroom. The Church is his bride.
And in our reading this weekend, we hear God speaking from his throne “behold, I make all things new!” It is the culmination of everything God had planned. No matter how much Satan and other evils tried to destroy the plan of God, nothing could stand in the way.
For those of you who saw The Passion of the Christ, do you remember that these words were the words Jesus spoke to his mother when she met him on the way to Calvary? “Behold I make all things new!” This sentence was placed in the movie from our reading here in the book of Revelation, even though, to our knowledge, it was not said by Jesus on the way to his death. But it fits.
Apply:
So… we are called to assist, in our own ways, in the building of the New Jerusalem. What can we contribute to such a glorious city? This city, built out of the precious things of this world as though they are common building blocks, will be the most beautiful thing we will ever see, except for the face of God. So I ask again, what can we contribute to such a glorious city?
I have said this before. But I am sure that I have the right understanding here. What we contribute to the New Jerusalem are the bricks of our good works, and the mortar of our virtues.
In one gospel story, Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to prepare a place for them, for us. What will our homes be made of? The bricks of our good works, the mortar of our virtues, and the wood of the cross. These are the precious things that we will find in the city of God that are more important than gems, or gold. And Jesus is taking all of these things that we have done and turning them into part of the glorious city of God that we are called to dwell in for all eternity.
Remember this: God makes our good works and our virtues holy enough to last for all eternity, because they are done in union with the cross of Christ. This is another part of the full message of the book of Revelation. It goes back to the first couple of chapters when John hears Jesus speak words of encouragement, and correction, to 7 different churches or cities. He speaks the same encouragement to us today, so that we will have a place made ready by him that is made up of the bricks of our good works, the mortar of our virtues, and the wood of the cross.
Pray/Praise:
Lord Jesus, there is so much in the book of Revelation that causes considerable confusion. But you have used it to cause holiness for those who listen. Help us to turn our hearts to the holiness that this world needs in order to better understand and embrace the wonders of your love.
Help us to be instruments of your holiness so that we can build what you need here on this earth in anticipation of the glorious bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. You have said that you make all things new. Make us new, not for our sakes, but so that the glory that is yours can shine through us so that the world will come to know who you are. Amen.

Reading:
John 10:27-28
Write:
My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.
Reflect:
This is a great promise from Jesus that is further fulfilled by the vision John has in the book of Revelation. There is a line that is skipped by our reading from Revelation today, and I think it is because it is similar in intent to what we read last weekend. However, it highlights this verse from the gospel. The crowd that is mentioned that no one could count cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”
This section of Revelation is still in the section with the trumpets and the plagues and all that terrible stuff that is a last ditch effort, so to speak, of God trying to bring humanity back to himself. And even through all the doom and gloom, there rings these kinds of declarations of praise of God.
All those standing around the throne of God after hearing this simple declaration by the crowd of heaven cry out as well with a similar set of words as I highlighted last weekend: “Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” It is this praising of God that is really the highlight of all of the tragedies that seem to be happening in the book of Revelations.
Yes, there are tragedies and warnings. But the purpose of those warnings is to try to get people to return to faith in God. There is a victory that is part of the work of God. Jesus references it in his own way in our Gospel. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.”
St. Paul puts it in another way that is even more triumphant. In the letter to the Romans, he writes: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Apply:
So, when we look at all the nonsense that surrounds our world today, when we see the tragedies of abortion, sexual immorality, warfare, all the destructiveness that our society not only permits but promotes, when we see Christianity being dismissed and Christians being persecuted, we need not fear. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. We have that promise from Jesus himself.
This is not something we have to create. This is not something that is a pious response. This… Is… Our… Reality. This is our gift from God, poured out on his children who are made his children by baptism.
What is that line that some people use when they are challenged? “Bring it!” Bring on whatever you think will destroy us. Try to shut down the Gospel. We are victorious because we stand with the King.
Pray/Praise:
Lord Jesus, we give you praise and thanks for your wonderful victory over death that we celebrate here in this Easter season. Continue to pour out … hope into our hearts. Fill us with the confidence that St. Paul had when he wrote to the Romans. Help us to rejoice… now… In the yet-to-be-realized vindication and salvation of your people.
Hold us close. Never let us be separated from you. But let our hearts, even now, rejoice in the knowledge of your salvation. And, finally, help us to convince others that this same salvation can be theirs. Amen.

Reading:
Revelations 5:12
Write:
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing.
Reflect:
Power – Baptism
Baptism is the power of God that breaks the power of sin and death in our lives.
Riches – Eucharist
The gift of the Eucharist is truly the richness of God pour out into our hearts.
Wisdom – Confirmation
We see and say in Confirmation that we received the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
Strength -- Confession
In Confession, our strength is renewed and we are able to do the things that God calls us to do.
Honor and Glory – Priesthood and Marriage
These two are the Sacraments of Vocation. For those who accept either of these vocations, there is honor and glory that is placed on them, not by this world, but by God himself.
Blessing – Anointing of the Sick
The anointing of the sick is intended to renew, rejuvenate, and restore any Christian who is struggling to become a solid servant of God, usually when the struggle is a physical illness.
Now, I say this so that we can understand that the Sacraments are given to us so that we can approach God, through Jesus, in a way that includes us in the glory of God.
This section of the book of Revelation speaks about the glory offered to the Lamb that was slain – his triumph is supreme. Let me repeat and emphasize that phrase – his… triumph… is… supreme.
This section of the book of Revelation repeats these different glorification’s of God in different sets of words, but never different than the ones that were mentioned in our reading today.
This glorification of God is set before us just before we hear about the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven plagues. It is the Lamb who was slain, who receives all the glory of God, who is Jesus, who is the only one capable of opening the seals and releasing the seven plagues. Thus it is clear that he is the one who is in charge. He controls the destiny of everything.
Apply:
So, what does this all mean? Here we have the Lamb who was slain, and yet lives forever, who gives, through the sacraments, the ability for us to stand with him victorious in our lives and victorious in heaven.
We look at the world around us in our day and it is hard not to be pessimistic about what we see and experience in the way the faith is ridiculed and ignored.
But by the grace of God, and the gift of his sacraments, we are made one with the victorious Lamb who stands in glory. We stand in the glory of God because we are holding fast to what he has given us in the church and through the sacraments. We need not fear the stuff we hear around us. We need not fear the beasts of the book of Revelation. The only thing we need to fear is falling away from the sacraments and the grace of God. Jesus willingly gives us “power and riches, wisdom and strength, honor and glory and blessing” so that we can stand with him victorious in the field of battle for the salvation of our souls.
Pray/Praise:
Lord Jesus, last week we were reminded that you told the churches in Revelations that whoever has ears to hear needs to listen. Help us today to hear the call to holiness that you have given us through the gifts of the sacraments. Help us to pursue your holiness with every ounce of our strength. Do not let us be weakened by what we hear around us, but let us be strengthened by hearing your words and your blessings given for our souls. Amen.

Reading:
Revelations 1:17-18
Write:
“Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld.”
Reflect:
(Wuh) That’s a very strong statement Jesus starts off with in the Book of Revelation. This year we go through parts of the Book of Revelation during the Easter season. The Book of Revelation has been made scary by people who don’t really understand it. It is not scary. That is why I am starting this series with the quote I made just above. Jesus is telling John – and us – not to be afraid. This is a lesson we all need to learn.
And here, in this first part of the Book of Revelation, John is relaying what Jesus said to the seven churches. Now, because of the way the church lays out our Sunday readings, we are not going to hear those specific comments read. But I think they need to be gone through. What church, or city, each of the comments are applied to is not as important as what is said about them. And what is said about them can just as easily be said about the modern Church. So, without mentioning the cities, I want to address some of the points that Jesus made. I will not mention all of them, because it would get too long.
Jesus said to the first city: “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors. Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first.”
This is the typical pattern: Jesus applauds them, and then has a criticism, and then calls them to a further holiness. It seems that in Jesus’ eyes, if we are not doing the works for the kingdom – in our own lives – we are giving evidence that we have lost the fervor of love that Jesus wants us to have – for him.
To another city, Jesus says: “I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but rather are members of the assembly of Satan. Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Here, Jesus is warning that there will be persecutions, even the possibility of death. Remember what happened on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. But the promise of Jesus is that if we are faithful, there is a crown that awaits us.
To another city, Jesus says: “I know your works, your love, faith, service, and endurance, and that your last works are greater than the first. Yet I hold this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her harlotry. So I will cast her on a sickbed and plunge those who commit adultery with her into intense suffering unless they repent of her works. I will also put her children to death. Thus shall all the churches come to know that I am the searcher of hearts and minds and that I will give each of you what your works deserve. But I say to the rest of you who do not uphold this teaching and know nothing of the so-called deep secrets of Satan: on you I will place no further burden, except that you must hold fast to what you have until I come.”
This is a longer quote, but it is similar to a city I skipped. The difference in focus is that some people appear to be trying to pass off satanic teachings as Christian teachings. And this is taking many forms: from people trying to dismiss the miracles of Jesus, to those ignoring or trying to rewrite morality, especially sexual morality. We cannot tolerate that. I think Jesus is saying to this city, and to us, if we do not put those who are not following the true teachings of the church out of the church, or at least out of a position of teaching in the church, then Jesus is going to come and deal with them directly. Personally, I hope he does. There are a lot of people who are not teaching and holding to the Catholic faith as they should.
To another city, Jesus says: “I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,’ and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments to put on so that your shameful nakedness may not be exposed, and buy ointment to smear on your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.”
This is the most often quoted of the cities that Jesus is speaking to. There are couple of points that bear mentioning in this particular statement of Jesus. The most important is that being lukewarm makes Jesus sick to his stomach. If you are not committed to him, or are actively against him, he cannot do much with you. This seems to me to be a common problem in our world today. People don’t take Jesus, or their faith, seriously. I have been reading studies that point out how far faith has fallen in importance. It is alarming.
After each one of the statements that Jesus makes to the cities, he has a further encouragement. The most well-known of these encouragements is the one that follows this last city: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”
He then repeats the one line that is after every statement to the cities: “Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Apply:
So this entire first section of the Book of Revelation is about encouraging people to straighten out their lives because the culture around them is poisoning who they are as Christians. Jesus obviously does not want that to happen. So he gives these instructions, through John, as a way to draw people back to living in the love that Christianity calls us to.
While I am sure we can see the mistakes of our modern society in each of the cities that Jesus speaks to, we have to go past those mistakes and pursue again the fervor of faith that will awaken the faith in others. Here on this Divine Mercy Sunday, we are called by Jesus to remake our society into a holy place here on earth. We will have those who do not want that, others who have never heard that, and others who will embrace it willingly.
The mercy of God is made new each day. Our prayer needs to be for the holiness that God wants in our lives, and in the lives of all human beings.
Pray/Praise:
Lord Jesus, do not let us remain lukewarm. But fill us with the fire of your Spirit. Help us to live your call to holiness in such a way that others will be attracted to you because of us. Help our society to regain its trust in you, and turn their attention from the things that are so seductive of this world to the things you have promised, that are ever more beautiful, to those who follow you. Amen.

There is something… almost mystical about the feel of nature around us as we enter the Easter season. It is almost as though, when you step outside, you can feel… something different… something… almost new. It seems to be in the air around us. It is almost as if nature itself knows we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. We have seen the signs of spring in the trees for the last couple of weeks. But now they are blossoming even more. The birds sing in the morning and sing out the night.
Hay algo... casi místico sobre la sensación de la naturaleza que nos rodea al entrar en la temporada de Pascua. Es casi como si, al salir, se puede sentir... algo diferente... Algo... casi nuevo. Parece estar en el aire que nos rodea. Es casi como si la propia naturaleza supiera que estamos celebrando la resurrección de Jesús. Hemos visto los signos de la primavera en los árboles durante las últimas dos semanas. Pero ahora están floreciendo aún más. Los pájaros cantan por la mañana y cantan la noche.
I would like to share with you a couple of legendary tales surrounding Easter. The first is the legend of the dogwood. There is a legend that at one time the dogwood tree grew straight and tall. But one of the dogwood trees was chosen to be the cross of Jesus. Because of the shame of being used to crucify the creator, all dogwood trees chose never to grow up straight and tall again. But Jesus would not allow them to carry that shame forever. So he made them a flowering tree, with four petals on each flower. The petals are mainly white, but there is a red streak going to the center of the flower on each petal. Thus each flower forms of red cross.
Me gustaría compartir con ustedes un par de cuentos legendarios que rodean la Pascua. La primera es la leyenda del cornejo. Hay una leyenda que en un momento el árbol cornejo creció recto y alto. Pero uno de los árboles cornejo fue escogido para ser la Cruz de Jesús. Debido a la vergüenza de ser utilizado para crucificar el creador, todos los árboles cornejo eligieron nunca crecer recto y alto de nuevo. Pero Jesús no les permitiría llevar esa vergüenza para siempre. Los pétalos son principalmente de color blanco, pero hay una raya roja que va al centro de la flor en cada pétalo. Así cada flor forma de cruz roja.
The second legend I would want to tell you today is of the robin. According to the legend, they did not always have a red breast. But as Jesus was hanging on the cross, robins flew up to soak up the dripping blood of Jesus while he hung on the cross. Because of this, the robin was given a red breast for the rest of time.
La segunda leyenda que querría decirles hoy es del petirrojo. Según la leyenda, no siempre tenían un pecho rojo. Pero mientras Jesús estaba colgado en la Cruz, peto voló para absorber la sangre goteando de Jesús mientras él colgaba en la Cruz. Debido a esto, el petirrojo se le dio un pecho rojo por el resto del tiempo.
I know they are fanciful stories, but they call us to be reminded that there is a transformation that is supposed to happen for us because of our devotion to Christ. Are we ashamed that our sins contributed to Jesus being nailed to the cross? Jesus’ answer to that was to make our souls blossom with grace. Are we scandalized by the blood that Jesus shed for our sakes? Would we choose to pick up the Precious Blood and hold it close to our hearts? When we do, the blood of Jesus washes away all unrighteousness, and rather than leaving us stained red in blood, he gives us a white garment to wear in his kingdom, as the book of Revelations tells us.
Sé que son historias fantasiosas, pero nos llaman para que se nos recuerde que hay una transformación que se supone que debe suceder por nosotros debido a nuestra devoción a Cristo. ¿Estamos avergonzados de que nuestros pecados contribuyeron a que Jesús fuera clavado en la Cruz? La respuesta de Jesús a eso fue hacer que nuestras almas florezcan con gracia. ¿Estamos escandalizados por la sangre que Jesús derramó por nuestro propio amor? ¿Elegiría recoger la sangre preciosa y tenerla cerca de nuestros corazones? Cuando lo hacemos, la sangre de Jesús lava toda injusticia, y en lugar de dejarnos manchados de sangre, nos da una prenda blanca para vestir en su reino, como nos dice el libro de las revelaciones.
Jesus’ blood and his death saved us, his resurrection justified us, his ascension glorified us. Here, in this time of year, we experience again the full power of the mission of Jesus. He calls us to enter into this mission alongside him. We will not have a flower like the dogwood, or red breast like the robin, but we can have something better and more eternal: a purified soul, washed in the blood of the Lamb, and raised up to the kingdom of God as his adopted children.
La sangre de Jesús y su muerte nos salvaron, su resurrección nos justificó, su ascensión nos glorificó. Aquí, en esta época del año, experimentamos de nuevo todo el poder de la misión de Jesús. Él nos llama a entrar en esta misión junto a él. No tendremos una flor como el cornejo, o el pecho rojo como el petirrojo, pero podemos tener algo mejor y más eterno: un alma purificada, lavada en la sangre del cordero, y levantada al Reino de Dios como sus hijos adoptivos. Amén.

Una vez más, esta noche sólo he traducido lo que considero los párrafos principales al español. Confío en que no estará demasiado decepcionado conmigo por esto.
Again, tonight I have only translated what I consider the main paragraphs into Spanish. I trust you will not be too disappointed in me for this.
As I said last night: “The primary point of difference in the Gospel of John is that John writes Jesus’ death as taking place at the same time as the lambs are being slaughtered for the Passover in the temple.”
Last night, I also said some people try to dismiss all the stories in all the Gospels because they find inconsistencies in the reports of Jesus death. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a different agenda in telling the story of Jesus death. Their agenda is to highlight Jesus’ establishment of the Eucharist by means of the story of the Last Supper. John’s agenda is very different. This does not mean there are errors in ANY of them. It just means they wrote with different agendas.
John describes Jesus’ establishment of the Eucharist early in his gospel, in chapter 6, when he describes the “Bread of Life” teaching of Jesus. When he arrives at the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before his death, his agenda at that last supper is the teaching of being a servant by his washing the feet of his disciples, which we heard last night.
So, for John, when Jesus is arrested, he is arrested in the night before the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple. Now, let’s take a look at some of the scenes in the story.
Jesus says to Peter in the garden, after Peter has struck Malchus: “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?” There are many cups of wine that are served during a Passover meal. In the other Gospels, Jesus hands off to his disciples the last cup, but does not drink from it. In fact, he says he will not taste the fruit of the vine again until he drinks it new in the Kingdom of his Father. But, note he takes wine again, from the cross, and then says “it is finished!” So Jesus is linking his death on the cross intimately to the Passover celebration that is happening in Jerusalem at the same time. He is also pointing out that the Kingdom of his Father is breaking into the world – as Jesus is dying. His death is overthrowing the kingdom of Satan.
Jesús le dice a Pedro en el jardín, después de que Pedro golpeó a Malco: “¿No voy a beber el cáliz que me ha dado mi Padre?” Hay muchas tazas de vino que se sirven durante una cena de Pascua. En los otros evangelios, Jesús da la mano a sus discípulos la última copa, pero no bebe de ella. De hecho, dice que no probará el fruto de la vid de nuevo hasta que lo beba nuevo en el Reino de su padre. Pero, tenga en cuenta que toma vino de nuevo, de la Cruz, y luego dice " Todo está cumplido." Así que Jesús está vinculando su muerte en la Cruz íntimamente a la celebración de la Pascua que está sucediendo en Jerusalén al mismo tiempo. También está señalando que el Reino de su padre está irrumpiendo en el mundo – como Jesús está muriendo. Su muerte está derrocando al Reino de Satanás.
Next, in order for a lamb to be used for the Passover it had to be without blemish. What did Pontius Pilate say? “I find no guilt in him.” It may be a different word, but the meaning is the same: no blemish, no guilt.
Next, preceding the time of the Passover, and Moses, we have the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. Interestingly, the mountain that he was going to sacrifice him on was the same mountain that Jesus died on. Another interesting connection: Abraham was told in the last moment not to sacrifice Isaac. Instead he was shown a ram stuck in a thorn bush. Jesus had a crown of thorns stuck on his head. Coincidence? I do not think so.
But let’s go back to the garden of Gethsemane. The crowd that came to arrested Jesus “turned away and fell to the ground” when Jesus said “I AM.” Of course, that is the sacred name of God which only the high priest was able to pronounce. And when Jesus, the true high priest, said those two words, the people who came to arrest him were reduced to nothing. Their strength failed them, and they fell to the ground. The point of this is that Jesus is in control of the entire set of events that was about to unfold leading all the way to the point where he said “it is finished.” These words, by the way, are the same words that would be pronounced at the end of the Passover meal by the father of the family. Again, coincidence? No way.
Pero volvamos al jardín de Getsemaní. La muchedumbre que vino a arrestar a Jesús "se alejó y cayó al suelo" cuando Jesús dijo "yo soy." Por supuesto, ese es el nombre sagrado de Dios que sólo el sumo sacerdote fue capaz de pronunciar. Y cuando Jesús, el verdadero sumo sacerdote, dijo esas dos palabras, la gente que vino a arrestarlo se redujo a nada. Su fuerza les falló, y cayeron al suelo. El punto de esto es que Jesús está en control de todo el conjunto de eventos que estaba a punto de desarrollarse conduciendo todo el camino hasta el momento en que dijo "está terminado." Estas palabras, por cierto, son las mismas palabras que se pronunciarían al final de la cena de la Pascua por el padre de la familia. ¿Otra vez, coincidencia? No es posible.
There are other parallels, or events from the Old Testament that could be brought forward to compare with the story of Jesus’ death. But I think these that I have mentioned are sufficient to show that when John wrote his gospel stories, his intention was to teach about Jesus being the fulfillment of the Old Testament. At the very beginning of John’s Gospel, we hear him lay out deliberately seven days, and on the seventh day is the wedding feast of Cana. Also note that John’s gospel begins with the same words that the book of Genesis begins with: “in the beginning”. None of this is coincidental. John is deliberately painting a picture for us that reveals the fullness of the Revelation of God through Jesus for the sake of our salvation.
His death reveals the fullness of the plan of God. The Passover celebrated by the Jews becomes the New Passover for the Christians. The death of Jesus sets us free from the slavery of sin, just as the death of the lambs set the Jews free from the slavery of Egypt. In Jesus God revealed the fullness of his plan; and the full authority and power that is his, even over death.
Su muerte revela la plenitud del plan de Dios. La Pascua celebrada por los judíos se convierte en la nueva Pascua para los cristianos. La muerte de Jesús nos libera de la esclavitud del pecado, así como la muerte de los corderos ha puesto a los judíos libres de la esclavitud de Egipto. En Jesús, Dios reveló la plenitud de su plan; y toda la autoridad y el poder que es suyo, incluso sobre la muerte.
Now, in these hours, every year, we take the time to be reminded of what it cost God to restore us to being his adopted children. There is a cute little line I remember hearing more than once: a child asked Jesus “how much do you love me?” And Jesus answered “this much” and he spread out his arms and died.
Ahora, en estas horas, cada año, nos tomamos el tiempo para recordar lo que le costó a Dios restaurarnos a ser sus hijos adoptivos. Hay una pequeña línea Linda que recuerdo haber oído más de una vez: un niño le preguntó a Jesús "¿Cuánto me amas?" Y Jesús contestó "tanto" y extendió sus brazos y murió. Amén.

I have only translated a few of the more important paragraphs from this Holy Thursday. I trust this will be okay as we try doing this Triduum bilingually.
Sólo he traducido algunos de los párrafos más importantes de este Jueves Santo. Confío en que esto estará bien cuando intentemos hacer este Triduo bilingüalmente.
It is amazing to me that there are still people who want to insist, in their “modern biblical interpretations”, that there is a problem in the Gospels in regards to the night before Jesus died. Because John does not have a “Last Supper”, they want to try to dismiss either the Gospel of John or the entire report of the Gospels on the life of Jesus.
At the risk of sounding harsh, that is just plain stupid. Now, I know it takes a lot to try to explain why the differences are there. The primary point of difference in the Gospel of John is that John writes Jesus’ death as taking place at the same time as the lambs are being slaughtered for the Passover in the temple.
To hear more that, you have to come back tomorrow night. Now, I want to focus on one word that occurs in both the Old Testament and the New Testament readings. That word is also contested among Christians: “remembrance”.
In the other three Gospels, the Last Supper scene includes the word remembrance as well. Every Mass, we use that word. It is part of the words quoted from Jesus and is in the words of consecration at each Mass.
What are we remembering? First, we are remembering the sacrifice of Jesus. Second we are remembering the sacrifice of the lambs in Egypt. Third we are remembering that Jesus said “do this…” Let’s take a look at each of these three.
The sacrifice of Jesus was done to bring about our salvation. To restore us to our original innocence that existed in Adam and Eve, and in the Virgin Mary. That original innocence cannot fully be restored because we have the wound of sin on our souls. Yet God’s plan was, through Jesus, to give us a way to be restored in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. Because of what Jesus did in his sacrifice, and our subsequent Baptism, we have been given the indelible mark of salvation on our souls. This destroys the consequences of original sin and we are left with only an inclination to sin, not a full and total emptiness of grace. I know, there is much more that could be set in this area. But I want to move on.
Second we are remembering the sacrifice of the lambs in Egypt. Remember, John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God. Also remember that John the Evangelist has Jesus dying at the same time as the lambs for the Passover were being slaughtered in the temple. (I know, I said wait until tomorrow for a further description of John’s Gospel, but I had to say this much.) The blood of the lambs in Egypt was spread on the door posts – made of wood – and the angel of death passed by the homes of the Hebrews. The blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, was poured out completely and finally on the wood of the cross.
Now, this is among the most important aspects: the members of the household protected by the blood of the Lamb had to eat the Lamb. If they did not participate in the meal, they were not part of the Hebrew people and their covenant with God.
So, now we turn to point three: Jesus said “do this in remembrance of me”. Paul repeats this in our reading from Corinthians. This points out that the Eucharist, even as we are participating in it now, was known to the very earliest of the Christian communities. It is wrong for other Christian groups to dismiss the reality that the body and blood of Jesus is real. So many of them try to use the word “remembrance” to dismiss the reality, saying that is just something that they do to remember what Jesus did.
They fail to focus on the full meaning of the Scriptures! They do not understand the implications of the sacrificial lamb that goes all the way from the Passover in Egypt through every year of Jewish history, to the time of Jesus, with the celebration of the Passover.
Los cristianos no católicos no se centran en el significado completo de las escrituras! No comprenden las implicaciones del cordero sacrificial que va desde la Pascua en Egipto a través de cada año de la historia judía, hasta la época de Jesús, con la celebración de la Pascua.
This is the fullness not just of God’s revelation, but the fullness of our faith! The sacrifice of the lambs in Egypt, and the meal connected with it, point to the Eucharist. Now, after Jesus death and resurrection, how was he to project his body and blood into the future for the sake of the church? The answer to this question is beautifully fulfilled in the simplicity, and complexity, of the Eucharist.
¡ Esta es la plenitud no sólo de la revelación de Dios, sino de la plenitud de nuestra fe! El sacrificio de los corderos en Egipto, y la comida relacionada con él, apuntan a la Eucaristía. Ahora, después de la muerte y resurrección de Jesús, ¿cómo iba a proyectar su cuerpo y sangre en el futuro por el bien de la iglesia? La respuesta a esta pregunta se ha cumplido hermosamente en la sencillez y en la complejidad de la Eucaristía.
Here on Holy Thursday, in this evening Mass, we commemorate, or remember, or have a remembrance of what Jesus called us to at the Last Supper. He gave his apostles the authority and responsibility of continuing our Passover in every Mass. This is what we are here tonight to do. This night we remember not just the sacrifice of Jesus, but the institution of the Eucharist.
Aquí el Jueves Santo, en esta misa de la tarde, conmemoramos, o recordamos, o tenemos un recuerdo de lo que Jesús nos llamó a la última cena. Él dio a sus apóstoles la autoridad y la responsabilidad de continuar nuestra Pascua en cada Misa. Esto es lo que estamos aquí esta noche para hacer. Esta noche recordamos no sólo el sacrificio de Jesús, sino la institución de la Eucaristía.
As I remember this, I am humbled that God should have chosen me to be a priest. The Sacred Triduum: this celebration, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil are a poignant reminder of what Jesus did, what he calls me to do, and what he calls you to do.
Al recordar esto, me siento humilde porque Dios debería haberme escogido para ser sacerdote. El Triduo sagrado: esta celebración, el Viernes Santo y la Vigilia Pascual son un recordatorio conmovedor de lo que hizo Jesús, de lo que él me llama a hacer y de lo que él te llama a hacer.

Reflect:
Pride, the primordial sin. Why? According to some traditions, when God created the angels, he told them he was going to become a human being.
Now, Lucifer was one of the closest angels to God. In fact, Lucifer means bearer of light. He was believed to be one of the most brilliant of the angels. But he thought it was wrong that God should want to become something less than the angels.
You see, he thought that the perfection of being was in the spiritual world, not in the physical world. He was filled with pride that he thought he was better than all of creation, because he was of a similar nature as God, who is pure spirit.
Because of this insistence on the part of God to become human, Lucifer went into a rebellion - out of pride - and, according to Scripture, he took one third of the angels with him. One third of the angels became demons because they could not understand how God would lower himself so much to become a man.
In their pride, they chose to go against God’s will. And that is exactly what happens when any of us act in pride. The seduction that Satan used against Adam and Eve was one of pride. He told them they would become like God himself.
And ever since that time, there has been a struggle because God created us flesh and spirit. There have been heresies in the church that tried to downplay the importance of the flesh. But Jesus came, lived, died, and rose from the dead in the flesh. He saves us through our participation in the sacraments in the flesh. He took his human, resurrected body to the throne of God – in the flesh. Because of this the glory of God is revealed – in the flesh. This is all in spite of Satan’s attempt to destroy humanity - in the flesh - by leading us to his own sin: pride.
So, how do we combat this most ancient of sins called pride? It is the last of the capital sins to mention here as this season of Lent draws to a close. It is through the virtue of humility. Jesus showed the magnitude of God’s humility by coming to live among us, only to die. St. Paul quotes an ancient Christian hymn in his letter to the Philippians which we read today. It speaks of Jesus’ humility in being willing to die.
It was because of this humility that he was raised up to the glory of the Father. And at the end of this marvelous little reading, we hear that every knee will bend, in the heavens on the earth and under the earth – this means even Satan must bend his knee before Jesus even Satan must declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. Though that declaration will do him no good regarding his eternal destiny.
It takes humility on our part to declare Jesus as our Lord. But if we do not do that here and now, if we do not humble our pride, if we do not yield to the glory of God through the humble Son of God, we may find ourselves humbled before God in a way that we do not want, namely to be condemned along with Satan.
This is why the church concludes our season of Lent with a reading of the Passion of our Lord. It is so that we will see the humility of Christ, and humble ourselves, and yield to his Lordship in our lives.
We are not playing a plastic Jesus game. We are playing for much higher stakes: our very souls. Too many people in our world want to treat Jesus as if he is some plastic figure rather than a life and blood warrior king who stood up to death, conquered it, and now calls us through it by the way of his cross to the glory of everlasting life. Amen.

Reading:
John 8:10-11
Write:
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore.”
Reflect:
Spiritual trap. Personal trap. Cultural trap. The drive that leads us into sexual sin is terribly strong. But we have no excuse for falling into the sin of lust. Let me begin with this: there is a huge difference between an excuse and an explanation. We cannot excuse falling into the sin of lust, but in our modern society, there is so much of a tendency and acceptance of lust that it explains why we are attracted.
When we look at our current society, it seems overwhelmed with images that, in a previous generation, would have been called pornographic. Because of the availability of these images through the Internet, children as young as 10 years old are finding an attraction, even an addiction, to the images that are available to them. And, it has been shown that pornography is as addictive as cocaine.
It is all too easy to … dismiss as alarmist all of the warning signs that we see. We are becoming too used to seeing these images. How many times have you found yourself viewing commercials on daytime or evening television and found yourself embarrassed at what you saw? Now, think back to your parents or grandparents. Would they have been embarrassed? I think they would probably have thrown the television out the window! I remember my dad saying more than once “what are they really trying to sell here?” He was a smart man!
In my estimation, the problem of lust has led to the most serious sins in our modern day. Whether we think of the problems in the church, or the problems with politicians, or the problems with what passes for entertainment, or the problems with abortion, or birth-control, or rampant divorce, or sexual perversions of very many types… The list could go on.
The loss of the standards of sexual morality is destroying lives. Families are being devastated. Individual’s lives are scarred. And all for what reason? The satisfaction of some pleasure center in our bodies and brains. There is a lack of restraint in the sin of lust that leads people to shatter the lives of those around them, and their own lives.
And look at the various ways it is being handled. It depends on who is caught in these lustful thoughts and actions. Some lives are being destroyed. Some of the immoral actions are being ignored. And all of this around what is called the modern media.
I honestly think that one of the reasons why the church has been the brunt of so much of these attacks in the recent decades is because we are the only ones who can speak to the genuine truth of sexual desire being properly focused as God intended. (I said one of the reasons. The other main reason is because the members of the church who were acting in lust needed to be corrected. And I pray that we are finished with that correction, though something tells me we are not finished.)
But the answer to all of these problems of our society and its obsession with lust is answered with one word: chastity. Now, let me further explain that there are different expressions of chastity. Chastity for a priest, or a brother or a sister in consecrated life, is different than the chastity that a married man or woman is called to. Those two forms of chastity are again different from the chastity that a single man or woman who is considering marriage is called to.
This, in turn, is different than the chastity that a teenager is called to, or a younger child. When the particular form of chastity that someone is supposed to be living is set aside, the holiness of God is being set aside.
Yes, that means most of our modern culture has set aside the call to holiness. Now, I am not suggesting that women wander around in burqas, but summertime is not that far away and summertime dress in our culture is oftentimes a problem. We are called not to be a near occasion of sin to others.
But, the immodest clothing that many women choose to dress in during the warmer weather can cause a near occasion of sin to brothers in Christ. A healthy understanding of and respect of chastity would seem to me that we are called to respect one another, and not offer ourselves as images that could harm another’s spiritual life. I know, men can dress and act in modestly too.
All of this has to change. If we are going to recover a genuine level of Christianity in our culture, this false god has to be removed. It is lust that has encouraged our society to accept birth-control, abortion, no-fault divorce, and all kinds of sexual perversions that I will not name at this time. It is a robust practice of the virtue of chastity and a rejection of this inclination toward lust that is necessary to pull our society out of the spiral of destruction that it is in.
The only way we can do this is to stand against the incidences and inclinations toward lust that we see around us. Reject those forms of entertainment, and I use that word loosely, that promote lust. Only pursue right and chaste relationships. Seek first the kingdom of God.

Reading:
Luke 15:11-32
Write:
Envy vs. brotherly love
Greed vs. liberality / generosity
Reflect:
It seems too easy to guess which of the capital sins will be mentioned this weekend. Though I won’t give you a chance to guess. We’re going to look at two again this weekend. Envy, and greed.
These would appear to be classic references within the gospel story for this weekend. And it would seem as though they do not need a whole lot of explanation. But there is one point that I want to make at the start: the only one of the three men Jesus mentions in this parable who does not suffer from either envy or greed in the story is the father. That is no surprise, is it?
The younger son, obviously, has issues of greed. But that would not be his only major sin. By doing what he did, and leaving his family, he was in essence saying that his family was dead to him, and he wanted nothing more to do with them. That is also a sign of envy, because the older brother got two thirds of the wealth of the family. Keep that in mind when we return to the older son.
The parable points out that there were people in Jesus day who were just as materialistic as people today. Materialism, and the desire for the things of this world, unfortunately almost always lead people to greed by wanting things, and envy by wanting what someone else has. It is, in part, a sign of… perpetual adolescence in our modern society.
It is also one of the first sins that we learn. At first, our needs as an infant are met by our parents’ giving us what we need. We cry for more food, and we get it. But as we grow older, we cry for things that we WANT, and if we are not challenged to seek for what we need, instead of what we want, we become greedy.
The young man in the gospel wanted. Wanted. He was not concerned about the welfare of his family, only about what he wanted. That’s a definition of greed, if ever I have heard one.
But the older brother also had problems with greed. And more obviously, envy. Where was his greed? In the fact that he held a grudge against his dad for not even giving him a goat to create a feast for his friends, while his dad slaughtered the fatted calf for his younger brother’s return. You see, in a real way, as the father says, everything that the father has at this point in the story belongs to the older son. So in his greed, he was upset that his father had given away something that was actually his, in his estimation.
His envy is clear in the entirety of his response to his father’s generosity. He did not like the fact that his brother was getting more than what was supposedly his share. And his father was throwing a party. He was envious as well as greedy.
So, what are the virtues that are opposite these two capital sins? Opposite envy is brotherly love. Opposite greed is generosity. May I give you a personal example of the change from envy to brotherly love? For the first few years of my priesthood, every time I heard someone talk about another priest with affection, or some other good comment, there was a part of me that was… envious. But when I looked at that, I realized how foolish it was.
Any good comment about another priest should fill my heart with a sense of joy. We are part of a unique brotherhood in the priesthood. And every good priest builds on the reputation of other good priests. Now… instead of being envious when I hear about another priest’s good work, my heart rejoices, because it’s one of my brothers who is being thought of well. I especially love it when I hear that another priest is a good preacher.
Envy and greed are sometimes called “green eyed monsters”. Have you ever heard the phrase that someone is “green with envy?”
So far we have spoken about anger in the first week of Lent; and gluttony and sloth last weekend. In my opinion, we are getting into more serious sins even among the capital sins. This week’s look at envy and greed reveals the danger that is in these two sins. Any and all of these capital sins can destroy our spiritual life. But as we are going through this progression, I believe we are getting into more dangerous ones with every week.
Envy and greed can destroy relationships very fast. To fight envy, we need a solid sense of brotherly love. We need to be able to see the good in others as a gift to them and to all mankind. This needs to be done even though we may not see them using their gifts for the good of others. To fight greed, we simply need to be generous. We need to recognize that everything that we have is given to us as a gift from God. And that what we have is given not just for our use, but for the good of those around us.
The last two capital sins that we will have to face will be lust and pride and we will take them in that order over the next two weeks. This will take us right into Holy Week.
So one more time I give you a review. We have covered anger, gluttony, sloth, and this week, envy and greed. These capital sins, one or in combination, can destroy our spiritual life.